Showing posts with label NEWS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NEWS. Show all posts

Tuesday, 21 November 2017

LAGOS-IBADAN EXPRESSWAY TRAGEDY AND THE ‘EMBER’ MONTHS’ MYTH


Tayo Ogunbiyi

According to reports, five persons died and many others were seriously injured in an early morning compound road mishap at the famous Kara Bridge, just by the Lagos end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Viewing the gory scene of the tragic event through various media platforms was quite distressing. Three of the victims died instantly while the other two died in the hospital.  Reports had it that about 55 people were involved in the accident, 40 men and 15 women.

An account of the incident revealed that a tanker laden with 33,000 liters of ago (diesel) ram into a stationary truck carrying brewery products. The resultant oil spill on the road resulted in the multiple crashes involving some trucks and cars. Conservatively put, not fewer than 16 vehicles, comprising eight trucks and eight vehicles were involved in the multiple crashes allegedly caused by the spilled diesel on the road.

As if the lives that have been wasted through the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway gruesome incidence weren’t enough for that day, reports had it that two other people died in another accident which involved a collision between a truck and a train in the Fagba axis of Lagos State, on same day. So, it was a rather busy day for men and officials of the Lagos State Emergency Agency, LASEMA, who had to move immediately from that incident on the Kara Bridge straight to Fagba for rescue operation.

Characteristically, many have tried to establish a connection between these bloody incidences and the usual ‘ember’ months’ tragic jargon.  The so called ‘ember’ months, which refer to the last four months of the year from September to December, are naturally regarded as tragedy prone period. This belief is so entrenched in the consciousness of the people that various religious groups and other relevant institutions regularly organize special prayer sessions and seminars with a view to minimizing ember months’ havoc.



The reality, however, is that the so called ‘embers’ months are not really spiritually jinxed as many might want to swear they are. Tragedy occurs in ‘ember’ months just as it does in every other month of the year. Ascribing needless spiritual and mythical undertones to tragic happenings during the ‘ember’ months could just be the usual Nigerian way of trivializing issues. Rather than clothing the ‘ember’ months in a garb of gratuitous mystery, the pragmatic way of explaining dreadful events during these months is more human than mythological.

The truth is that there is usually an increase in the tempo of public, private and corporate activities during this period.  Religious bodies are equally not left out of the frenzy of the season as they organize various events during the period. The ‘ember’ months are always the busiest on our roads for obvious reasons and the tumultuous air of festivity do not really help matter. It is a period when people are in so much haste to make all the money they have not made since the beginning of the year. Hence, commercial drivers, who usually embark on five trips per day, capitalize on the aura of festivity to go for ten trips. This, naturally, comes with its fatal consequences. It is only logical that when there is a mass exodus of people from one place to the other, there is bound to be a measure of uncertainty and disorder.

The bottom line, therefore, is that tragic occurrences are bound to happen during the ‘ember’ season because of the intensity of human activities. In a bid to be part of the various end-of-year activities slated for the period, a lot of people throw caution into the wind by disregarding critical safety issues. Vehicles are driven irresponsibly. Alcoholic drinks are consumed with reckless abandon while social outings are organized as if tomorrow will not come. The atmosphere, during the season, is often filled with unusual allure and jollity. It is in the midst of this hilarity that avoidable human blunders that result into diverse kinds of misfortunes usually occur.

Hence, it is imperative for everyone to, first and foremost, have a changed perception of the ‘ember’ months. Hence, conscious efforts must be made to disrobe the months of every garb of unfounded mysticism. It is only when we are convinced that the dangers associated with the months are human rather than mythical that we could really make considerable progress in averting disasters during the months.

Therefore, enforcement of existing laws and attitudinal change is central to making any progress. Sadly, law enforcement agents are also involved in the mad ‘ember’ months’ rat- race. In a bid to make some ‘extra’ buck to furnish special festive ‘necessities’ , they usually engage in treacherous compromise that encourages law breakers to go un-punish. The result, of course, is the continuation of avoidable circle of pandemonium and sorrow.

Consequently, as we march towards the end of the year, we must modify our views on the ‘ember’ months. We must not get involved in any pointless extra-ordinary  end of the year ‘rush’ that could endanger our lives and , indeed, those of others. Those who have to organize social events to correspond with this period should do so bearing all safety precautions in mind. Commercial drivers and other road users must respect the sanctity of the human life by observing required road safety measures.

Perhaps, more importantly, relevant government agencies must step up enlightenment campaigns as well as enforcement strategies to guarantee that ‘ember’ months’ crashes and other related tragedies are reduced to the barest minimum. In this respect, the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, and the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, should be commended for their various ‘ember’ month’s safety strategies, in Lagos and adjoining States.

However, there is a need for them to intensify efforts in this direction while more appropriate government agencies should also come on board the ‘ember’ months’ re-orientation and re-awareness project. Presently, the Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy is embarking on an ‘ember’ months’ responsiveness campaign across the State. The objective is to change the attitude of the people towards these months and offer key safety tips.

As it has been previously affirmed, it is critical to re- affirm that tragic happenings during ‘ember’ months are promoted by reckless human actions. It is only in living modestly and responsibly that we could avoid the dangers and hiccups that are generally associated with ember months. If only we could rid ourselves of our usual ‘ember months’ excesses, we would discover that nothing is actually wrong with the months.

Ogunbiyi is of the Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja

Thursday, 31 August 2017

HOUSTON CALAMITY FLOOD AND THE LIMIT OF SCIENCE


Tayo Ogunbiyi

Following mostly through international cable news media, the images of on-going Houston flood disaster are quite scary and heart shattering. A young man in his thirties burst into sorrowful tears as he claimed he had lost all he had worked for all his life.  Many sought for safety on roofs of houses and on top of vehicles for hours as there was no dry place anywhere again, except for water everywhere. Worst of all is the image of hapless little kids and aged ones, waiting helplessly to be rescued. Perhaps more horrific is the case of a woman on wheel chair who had just had surgery and still had to cope with her frightened toddler. Homes have been submerged while power has been cut off. Even a heart of steel will melt at the sight of some of these horrific scenes. It is such a monumental catastrophe that is far beyond the scope of every human and scientific capacity.

Many have become homeless as thousands of people continue to seek emergency shelter from the wind and rains. Reports say about 30,000 residents are presently in need of shelter while the Houston’s George R Brown Convention Center has already exceeded its bed capacity of 5,000 even as new locations are being sought. A Red Cross source claim that volunteers at the Center had to create space for more evacuees by pushing beds together. Houston authorities believe that in spite of the already jam-packed situation at the Center, no one would be turned away from taking shelter there.  The objective is to give as much soccour to as many people as possible.



According to unconfirmed source, 14 people have been killed by the raging storm. The most pathetic being a family of six who allegedly got killed when the raging flood viciously swept them away in a van. Unidentified numbers of people are currently stranded in their homes awaiting rescue while rescue workers are using boat to reach out to the trapped. To further intensify rescue efforts, Texas Governor, Greg Abbot, has tripled the number of official personnel involved in rescue mission from 4000 to 12000.
All shops and business centers are currently shut down as loss incurred has tentatively been put at above 30 billion US dollars. This is aside huge health and economic concerns that might take years to really fully address. Since Texas is the energy hub of the USA, the disaster would no doubt have a grievous effect on the nation’s energy situation. Already, prices of gas have reportedly shot high in the Houston region.
Sadly, respite doesn’t seem to be in sight for Houston and her traumatized residents as storm Harvey is regaining strength and continues to batter south-eastern Texas, while life-threatening floods continue to surge through Houston.  With up to 20 inches (51cm) of further rain already predicted for the grieving region, experts are of the view that the worst isn’t yet over for Houston.

According to experts, the situation is seemingly beyond control because the storm is generating an amount of rain that would normally be seen only once in more than a thousand years. There are fears that the floodwater would spill around a pair of 70-year old reservoir dams that protect the city-center of Houston. This implies that flooding might get worse in the days ahead and the floodwaters will be slow to recede once Harvey finally moves on. To further reinforce the notion that the amount of water being currently experienced in Houston is unparalleled in contemporary age, the National Weather Service had to update the colour charts on its official rainfall maps to indicate heavier totals!

According to Tom Dart, an environmental expert, there is no way that Houston or any other city for that matter could have been ready for the current disaster because much of the Houston region’s flood planning is designed for the region for 100 years events, with just a 1% chance of occurring in any given year. He explicates that a flood of the magnitude being experienced in Houston is an 800-year event and it exceeds the design specifications of all the region’s levees as they couldn’t cope with a 59ft river level which threatens to overtop many of the levees  put in place in the region to hold back flooding.
A major truth to discover from the Houston tragedy is that in-spite man’s advancement in technology and science; it is really difficult to fully tame nature. Man and nature interact dialectically in such a way that as society develops, man tends to become less dependent on nature directly, while indirectly his dependence grows. This is understandable. While he is getting to know more and more about nature, and on this basis transforming it, man's power over nature progressively increases, but in the same process, man comes into more and more extensive and profound contact with nature, bringing into the sphere of his activity growing quantities of matter, energy and information.



However, man’s technological and scientific breakthroughs over the decades have had certain negative impact on the natural landscape of the earth. Forests were destroyed and the area of arable land increased. Nature with its elemental forces was regarded as something hostile to man. The forest, for example, was something wild and menacing and people tried to force it to retreat. This was all done in the name of civilization. But as time goes on, the interaction between man and nature is characterized by man’s continued quest to subjugate nature.

Modern industrial activity has embraced ruthless ways of crushing global natural systems. Indeed, the prevailing trend of the modern world is the pursuit of activities that portend great danger for the future existence of the earth. In finding solutions to complex world’s challenges, man unconsciously creates other problems that are often too difficult to manage. Climate change, overpopulation, loss of topsoil and fresh water, increasing rates of species extinction, deforestation, imperiled coral reefs, unstoppable invasive species, toxic chemicals that remain for eons in the environment, persistent human poverty and hunger, and an increasingly inflated and unstable world financial system are some of the results that unwholesome human induced activities have brought upon the world.

While one might not really have a straight-jacketed explanation for the Houston disaster, commonsense should however instruct all that the less man tampers with nature, the better for us all. Meanwhile, it is hoped that President Donald Trump would do well to rise above his customary trivial and divisive style by using the Houston calamity to unite his already sharply divided country. This is not the time to take to undue slack talk. This is not the time for pointless tweeting. This is actually the right time to show the American people that they have elected a President that can actually make their country again. Perhaps, more importantly, one hopes Mr. Trump changes his mind about climate change.

Ogunbiyi is of the Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos

Saturday, 28 January 2017

Serena Wins Record Grand Slam Title




Serena Williams beat her sister Venus Williams to win a record 23rd grand slam title, while also wining her 7th Australian Open title.
With this feat, Williams, 35, is now  Steffi Graf for the most major titles in the Open era. Margaret Court has the all-time record and was also in the crowd for the final at Rod Laver Arena.
Court won 24 majors, but collected 13 of those before the Open era which began in 1968 after the sport became professional
By this victory, Serena has also moved back to become world number one.
It will be recalled that she lost her number one spot last September after 186 straight weeks when Angelique Kerber won the U.S. Open.
The new world number one praised her sister, Venus, 36, for being her inspiration: “Thank you Venus for inspiring me to be the best player I can be and inspiring me to work hard.”